For U.S. and SAC Alike, Battles Won and Lost

Claims of Victory Are Justified on Both Sides

The U.S. government and SAC Capital Advisors LP can each plausibly declare victory in Monday's $1.2 billion criminal settlement—even if neither side got everything it wanted.

By one important measure, the capstone to the government's decadelong insider-trading investigation falls short of the resounding successes prosecutors scored in some other landmark Wall Street cases. Unlike Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky and Raj Rajaratnam, who went to prison, SAC founder Steven A. Cohen isn't facing the prospect of time behind bars....